Wednesday, February 06, 2019

Nearly 5,000 flights in and out of Mumbai airport have been ‘cancelled’ for six hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between 7 February and 30 March 2019. The planned closure at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is to allow repairs of the two runways. For you, this could mean higher airfares and potential delays on these dates.

The airport re-carpeting and relaying the two cross runways at Mumbai. It’s an extensive operation, conducted typically every six-seven years. And so:

Mumbai airport will be shut for six hours (11am to 5pm) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. All flights, domestic and international during this period have been cancelled.
The only exception is Thursday, 21 March, when the airport will operate full day, as always.
On an average, 230 flights will be cancelled on each of these days, leading to over 4,800 cancellations till the end of March.
Morning flights that are delayed and can’t take off or land before 11am may be grounded or diverted, as the case may be.
And so, some airlines have rescheduled flights, even advancing their departures to make the deadline. Best to check with your airline if you’re flying on these dates.
With fewer flights, airfares on these dates are likely to go up.
On either side of the closure time, international flights will be prioritised for take-offs and landing, which could mean delays for domestic flights.
Most major domestic airlines have put out a list of the affected flights. If you’re flying Jet Airways, check this list. Vistara’s list of cancelled flights is here.
In February, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport is also going to be shut for a few hours for 11 days due to Aero India Show.
06/02/19 Condé Nast Traveller